Frisco Council Tables Vote on Public Comment Rules After Racially Charged Testimony

Council member Burt Thakur had a pointed question for his colleagues on the Frisco City Council when they debated cutting public speaking time at their March 17 meeting: "What are we doing by cutting the public's time by 40% to be able to get an idea out? Public input is not meant to be efficient."

Proposed changes to Frisco's public speaking rules at council meetings will remain on hold for now. At the March 17 meeting, the council tabled a vote to modify the city's rules and procedures for public input. Council members decided to table the item to allow more time to discuss the proposed changes and ordinance language.

The debate centered on three specific proposals: having separate comment periods for agenda and non-agenda items, moving public comment on non-agenda items to the end of the meeting, and limiting the allotted time per speaker. The most contested of those was reducing speaker time from five minutes to three. Council members Jared Elad and Burt Thakur opposed the reduction, citing concerns about reducing free speech. On the other side, Mayor Jeff Cheney noted that when the council lowered the allotted speaker time to three minutes for individuals speaking about a proposed warehouse project at its previous meeting, speakers were still effective, adding: "When we went to three minutes last meeting, I think 90% of the people finished in two minutes."

Several council members said reducing speaker time to three minutes would align Frisco with neighboring cities while still allowing speakers enough time to communicate their thoughts.

The proposed rule changes also included digitizing the sign-up process. Currently, those wishing to speak fill out a physical card by hand and give it to the city secretary before the meeting starts. Most of the six-member council supported moving to an online registration system, as long as the change is publicized to residents. After deliberations, council members largely agreed there should be no explicit ordinances about when during the meeting speakers can address non-agenda items, with the mayor retaining discretion over timing based on the meeting schedule.

The discussion followed a Feb. 3 meeting where 23 people, including several non-Frisco residents, spoke during the public comment section about perceived demographic changes in Frisco. Speakers at that meeting raised allegations of H-1B visa fraud and used the phrase "Indian takeover," on a topic that was not on the agenda. The volatility of that session prompted the council to examine whether its public comment rules, originally established in the late 1980s and not updated since, needed revision.

At the March 17 meeting, speakers still turned out with their own concerns unrelated to the rule debate itself. Harlan Papert used his time to raise concerns about an industrial park along State Highway 121, illustrating exactly the kind of wide-ranging citizen input that some council members say the proposed rules could chill.

Mayor Cheney said the proposed changes would not impact the content of what speakers are allowed to say. Council members ultimately decided to focus any new rules on the procedures regarding public comment, not the content of what speakers are saying.

Mayor Pro Tem Angelia Pelham said the discussion about modifying the city's policy has been an ongoing conversation over the last several years. The item will return to staff for revisions, and a future discussion date has not yet been scheduled.